Jit Lal Bhatti, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, who had contested from Adampur Assembly segment in 2022, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party’s state headquarters in Chandigarh.
Bhatti was formally inducted into the party by state BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon. The BJP chief expressed confidence that Bhatti’s grassroots connect and public support would further strengthen the party in the Doaba region, especially in Adampur constituency.
The move is being seen as an attempt of the BJP to catch hold of leaders in rural areas and increase its presence in villages.
Bhatti had polled almost 29,000 votes, which was nearly 25 per cent vote share in the constituency. He had come third after Congress’ Sukhwinder Kotli and SAD’s Pawan Tinu. Tinu left the SAD in 2024 and joined the AAP. In June last year, the AAP had removed Bhatti as its halqa in-charge in Adampur and replaced him with Tinu. Before entering active politics, he had served in Punjab National Bank as a supervisor for 36 years and got retired in 2015.
Along with Bhatti, several prominent political and social leaders also joined the BJP. These include Urmila Devi, former vice-president of Nagar Council, Bhogpur; Vidwant Kaur, former senior vice-president of NC, Bhogpur; Usha Rani, sarpanch; and Raj Rani, senior AAP worker, among others.
Welcoming the new entrants, Dhillon said the BJP continues to gain strength across Punjab. Bhatti said he was inspired by the BJP’s commitment to good governance, nationalism and public welfare, and pledged to work tirelessly to strengthen the party at the grassroots level across Punjab.
